Defiance
by Ora Leigh
Summary: Once you realize that fairytales don't exist, you have to try to make your own happy endings. When you do this, even after others have tried to stop you, that is something called defiance. In all honesty, my child, I would not have it any other way.


It was dark that night, and the ground was wet from fresh rain. Very few things had the charm of the smell after it rained, and Delilah wished for an instant that she could stay and enjoy herself. A feverish sensation, slowing spreading all over her, reminded her that what she needed was to hunt.

The field she sat in was hidden from the rest of the small town. This suited her just fine, as the longer she went without feeding the more she looked...

Well, let's just say it was for the best that no one else was around.

_Or at least I thought I was. _

The sent of another being drifted on the breeze, and a moment later a human girl entered the clearing. She was panting, obviously not in the best shape of her life, and looking around excitedly.

Laying low in the tall grass, she could watch the human without being seen herself. The girl was certainly was no different than the rest of her kind, unless one counted being slightly stupid. With all the warnings the local authorities had put out, she would have assumed that no one would venture out after dark. Yet here was this one, running around in a forest and making tons of noise, practically screaming to every animal how weak she was compared to them.

Sudden movement among the trees caught Delilah's attention. Her eyes perked up, and years of practice made her sink even lower on her belly.

A tall man with disturbing red eyes walked into the field. She remained still; even though it was the female she had been hunting, she was in no position to pass up an opportunity.

The human proceeded to make an even bigger fool of herself. From the shadows Delilah could see that instead of running away from the vampire, she seemed to know him and began to strike up a conversation.

_Okay, so stupidity is far too nice a term for her._

The problem now wasn't finding her prey. The trouble would be removing the presence of the woman so that she could feed in peace. In all honesty though, this had less to do with her safety and more to do with the fact that vampire's tasted like dirt right after they had blood.

Her decision making was interrupted when she spotted the large wolves outside the clearing. Even in the undergrowth she could tell the smallest of them were as tall as horses. Delilah nearly gave away her hiding spot as she hastily backed away, for the first time that night feeling truly scared. The girl, however, took no notice of them. She had been so enchanted by the vampire that the huntress wondered if she even remembered her own name.

After he had made his intentions clear, she might have reconsidered her opinion about him. Her eyes were wide with fright, and she could hear her pleading with the man. He spoke to her gently in return, almost as a parent would while trying to calm a child. Despite his pretty words, even the human could see the evil behind them.

_Too little too late, idiot. _

At this point, Delilah should have left the vampire to his feeding and avoided any confrontation with him or the monsters in the forest. She knew that either he would kill the girl, or the wolves would kill both of them. Alone she was no match for the giant dogs, and would without a doubt be lumped in the former category.

There was only one obstacle keeping her from doing the smart thing, and that was it had been over a month since her last kill. The shivers came back as another breeze blew her way, though the feeling came from no real illness. Her tail twitched as she zeroed in on the French speaking male and her body moved forward.

_Just one bite would kill him: run, jump, grab, and then bite at the base of the skull. The head will come off, he'll be, uh, re-dead, and you'll get away before Pyscho Lady and Fido can even see you. It's just that simple._

In truth she had passed the point of obsessiveness with this several days ago. These were obviously not the thoughts of a sane individual, but demons seldom were in the right state of mind when they hadn't killed for some time.

It was then she saw that the wolves had entered the field, and were stalking the vampire. One moment he was there, and the next he was sprinting away from the pack and into the darkness. The mistake was that he was running right to the spot where Delilah waited. She made up her mind, and with the wolves right behind him she did the dumbest thing she could think of.

She pounced, snarling and slashing out at the vampire.

Once again, not exactly the actions of a mentally sound person.

Her aim was off, and instead of landing the killer bite she had intended she somehow caught his shoulder. Down the two went, a tangle of pale and black limbs struggling violently. In the end he managed to punch her in the stomach and knock the wind from her lungs. A second later she recovered and was chasing him once more, totally oblivious of the wolves literally right on her tale.

With her heightened senses, Delilah was able to see him as he stumbled in his panic. She tackled him again, this time making sure she got it right. He screamed when he felt her fangs attach to his neck. She clamped down, listening to the snap of his bones as his head detached from the rest of his body.

That's when karma came and bit her on the butt.

The wolves were pretty upset at having their dinner stolen, or at least that was the impression she got when the biggest one leaped at her. She rolled aside, barely dodging his open maw. Another one tried to catch her by her leg, but she hissed and swiped at his face. He jumped away and shook his great head, not even trying to resume his attack.

This would have continued, but common sense finally won out and she retreated into the dense underbrush. A small, grey wolf tried to follow her, but she turned around and bit a chunk out of one of his ears. He howled in agony, turning back to where his buddies had stopped. She spat, thinking that he tasted almost as bad as a recently fed vampire.

_I shouldn't have to know these things._

She fled deeper into the night until she had left them far behind. She was mad, as that kill wouldn't count. If the wolves didn't tear him to pieces, then he would just respawn again and be as good as new.

Delilah was so preoccupied with her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps behind her until it was too late, nor did she smell the creature until she was practically on top of her. The last thing she remembered was an annoyed hiss, then a sharp pain at the back of her head, and finally nothing but darkness.


End file.
